A Little Of What You Fancy
by xXHellfireRavenXx
Summary: Watching those two making goo eyes at each other from across the room wasn't exactly conductive to a controlled learning environment; unless it involved causing massive amounts of grievous bodily harm to the jerk in question...Makorra/Masami/Borra
1. Chapter 1

**Well after this whole Episode 4 business, I had to vent and get this one out. I don't have anything against Asami, but I'm just not really into the Mako/Asami ship. I also find it adorable that Bolin seems to like Korra and I couldn't bear to see him getting hurt. This will mostly follow how I think the show will pan out, I've tried to keep to the characters personalities as much as I can. As of yet I won't be updating 'A Stoke of Serendipity' for a few weeks as this one has taken over my writing. **

**Disclaimer: Do disclaimers need disclaiming? I don't own Legend of Korra.  
**

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A Little Of What You Fancy - Chapter One

Honestly, talk about shameless.

It was almost like watching a slimy male Badger-Frog puffing up his vocal sac ready to ribbit on and show off to potential mates. Tahno, the Firebender from the Wolf Bats Pro-Bending team had been flittering around the female population of the bar since she and Bolin had arrived briefly ten minutes earlier.

"Remind me again…why are we here?" Korra folded her arms dispassionately and scowled at the Earthbender.

Coming here had meant to be a welcome distraction from a certain older brother of Bolin's, who was driving her insane with his constant _smiles_ and _soft gazes_ towards the heiress of the Sato-mobile fortune who also happened to be Mako's girlfriend.

Instead of watching the two love-birds making eyes at each other, she was being forced to watch Tahno pretend that he hadn't spotted the two of the members of the Fire Ferrets sitting just off to his left and quickly checking his reflection in the mirror behind the bar before making his way towards their table.

Gouging out her own eyeballs at Mako and Asami or be slimed to death by Tahno? She couldn't quite decide which one sounded more fun…

"Well, hey there Avatar."

Korra physically shuddered as he spoke to her. He even _sounded_ like a slimy Badger-Frog.

"And if it isn't little _Bolin_, where's your grouchy big brother?"

Bolin got to his feet but was pushed aside by Korra. Tahno scoffed and a crowd began to gather, sensing a fight.

"Run along and play little girl, leave the discussions to the men_, sweetheart._"

Bolin sighed, knowing how Korra usually responded to being goaded. "Hoo, _boy_."

Korra narrowed her eyes and raised her head to look at him threateningly, inches away from his face. "You wanna go toe to toe with me pretty boy?" she murmured, raising an eyebrow.

The two benders stared each other down as Bolin attempted to stop her from doing anything rash.

"_You hit him, and we're out of the tournament!" _he whispered urgently. Tahno was the only nephew of Otaka who just happened to be the person who ran the entire Pro-Bending operation. One little whine to his uncle would have the Ferrets out of the tournament faster than Bolin could eat an entire bag of Dumplings.

Okay so maybe she couldn't knock him into next Tuesday, but she could certainly give him a good fright. With a quick whistle, the entire bar watched as the window shutters behind Korra burst open and a large and very angry Naga drew face to face with the opposing Firebender and roared menacingly at him.

With a high pitched squeal, he fainted.

Mouths had dropped open across the room and Korra smiled and simply turned to her animal friend and petted her on the snout.

"Good girl, Naga." She grinned.

Bolin was torn between horror at the thought of what had just happened and laughter of seeing Tahno squealing and fainting in front of everyone.

"Korra! I told you not to do anything!" his horror won out when he realised that Mako would probably kill the both of them for causing a scene.

"What?" she looked at him. "I didn't _do_ anything!"

"But this will be all over the morning papers!" Bolin brought his hands to his cheeks, horrified.

"You really think that Tahno would allow something like _that_ to be printed?" Korra folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "I can see it now: _'Tough Fire-bender squeals like a girl and faints in fright of Polar-Bear dog! Catch all the gossip on page six!'_"

Bolin laughed and his argument vanished.

"C'mon, I owe you a drink after that." He grinned and patted her on the back, the both of them making their way through the crowd.

* * *

"You, _what_?"

Mako was looking at the both of them as though they had both grown a second head.

"_Whoops…_" Korra flushed red at Bolin, who so far had done a very good job of hiding their little scene at the bar a few nights previous and was now regarding her with mutiny at her little slip of the tongue.

"_Korra…_" he hissed quietly.

The Avatar, Bolin admitted begrudgingly, had been right about Tahno stopping his embarrassing little performance from being published in the newspapers the morning after the night before. Though the eyewitnesses had spread the story around the neighbourhood, it had been retold and edited so many times that the 'story' had turned into a thirty man strong brawl between Tahno and a local gang with the Firebender claiming victory after smashing an entire tray of shot glasses over the thirtieth thugs head. Bolin, Korra and even Naga had been removed from the story entirely.

"I wondered why Tahno flinched when he saw Naga sat outside the arena yesterday…"

To their surprise, Mako didn't sound angry, if anything he sounded amused.

"You're not going to make me do three hundred hot-squats in the gym as a punishment, then?" Korra looked surprised.

Letting a laugh pass through his lips, he smirked and turned his golden eyes on her.

"Win the match and I'll think about it."

Cocking a hip to the side and raising an eyebrow, she grinned back.

"I'll hold you too it, City-Boy."

Bolin noticed the exchange between the two and he secretly grinned. Those two had been playing around each other for weeks and if Mako hadn't been such a slowpoke and realised it _before_ he'd gone and got himself a girlfriend, he would had pushed them together himself.

It was two thirty in the afternoon, and the match was about to begin when the door to the changing room burst open and a heavily panting Asami Sato almost fell into the room. Korra could barely tear her eyes away from Mako to look at the intruder before he went into 'mushy-mode' as Bolin called it. His smile grew wider and he pulled the heiress into a hug.

"Asami?" Mako was surprised to see her. "I thought you were out of town today?"

Asami smiled that sweet smile of hers and she and Mako were blushing like love-struck teenagers…oh wait…they were love-struck teenagers, Korra grumbled to herself.

"I asked my father and he said it was fine." Asami turned to smile at Bolin and eventually Korra. "Besides, I couldn't miss you're championship game!"

Honestly, Korra rolled her eyes; she was ogling Mako like she was some sort of groupie. It was like listening to one of those Soap-Opera's that Pema and Jinora enjoyed listening to on the radio on Sunday afternoons. It was only a performance; there was no sense of passion or fire to the relationship.

If she was Mako's girlfriend she would have shoved Bolin out of the changing room long ago and pushed Mako back against the door and-

Feeling a blush rise to her cheeks, she cleared her voice and turned away to look out over the arena, folding her arms.

When a steward peered his head around and door and announced that it was time to get ready, Asami hugged Mako one last time and waved.

"I'll be in the top centre box; blow me a kiss if you spot me." She winked, giving one last wave before departing.

Mako sighed happily and continued to gaze longingly at the door for a few more seconds.

"Can I blow her a kiss too, Mako?" Korra teased and stuck out her tongue in disgust at Bolin, who howled with laughter while making kissy faces at his brother.

His teammates taunting brought Mako back from his daydreaming and he scowled at the two. The moment was forgotten as they stepped out onto the lift that took them to the central platform.

Korra should have been terrified, but the strange thing was that she felt nothing but elation.

They were stood surrounded by roaring, excited crowds and it was then she knew that there was no going back. This was it…the championship.

She felt a growing nervousness in the pit of her stomach. Just two weeks ago she had been sneaking out in the middle of the night, jumping off a cliff and swimming the two miles across the bay to sneak into the Pro-Bending arena to watch the game she had dreamed about seeing since she was a little kid. Now look at her, not only was she _playing _it, but she had only gone and helped her team to reach the finals, in their very first season. It was practically unheard of!

A movement across the pitch caught the attention of her bright eyes as the platform that carried their opposing team connected with their half of the pitch. They had arrived. Having won the tournament every season for the past four years, the Badgermoles' had bulldozed their way up through the ranks yet again to great success. Now Korra wasn't very easily intimidated by anything, or anyone…but even the Avatar had to admit that she was a little apprehensive about their shot at the winnings.

"How are you feeling?" Bolin asked.

It took Korra a moment to realize that he was talking to her.

"I'm alright." She nodded.

"They won't last long." He grinned at her.

"How do you know?"

"Mako has a plan."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, I finalised it last night." The Firebender glanced across at the Avatar briefly.

Korra felt more than a little annoyed, she was supposed to be an equal member of the team; so what gave Mako the right to discuss tactics with only his little brother and not with her also? Why had she been excluded?

"Is it offering you up as Tahno's personal slave?" she grumbled, lending a smug glance at Bolin, who grinned at her. "Or perhaps you're going to throw yourself in front of us as a personal sacrifice?"

She noted with satisfaction that he was trying to think of a response but there was no point in arguing back, they had to concentrate on the match.

"Hit em hard and fast." Mako hissed at her quickly.

"That's it?" Korra scoffed. "And there I was thinking that the '_plan_' was a top secret strategy you've spent the last month devising in secret!"

Mako and Bolin looked at each other.

"It _is_."

Mako was about to say something else when a call sounded off to their right. Korra saw his head turn and once he had fixated on a booth overlooking the centre of the ring, his grim face turned into a smile. He also waved briefly.

Korra, ever curious, turned around and followed his glance. She could see the smiling face of Asami peering down at the love-struck Firebender from her balcony. Scowling, the Avatar folded her arms and tried to hold back from making a sarcastic comment.

Ever since that _floozy_ had careened into Mako, the little rich girl had bowled him over hook line and sinker; in more ways than one. The little battle of wits that she had going on with the Firebender up until that point kept them on their toes and added to the banter they exchanged playfully during practice. Well, when she could muster up the strength to actually _turn up_ to practice anyway…Watching those two making goo eyes at each other from across the room wasn't exactly conductive to a controlled learning environment; unless it involved causing massive amounts of grievous bodily harm to the jerk in question, she wasn't interested.

"What was it that _lover-boy_ said about the fan girls?" she muttered as she watched Asami waving, making sure that Mako could see her.

"Oh c'mon Korra, Asami isn't that bad…" Bolin whispered back, careful to keep his voice down too. It was hard to achieve with all of the cheering around them.

He did have a point. Asami really wasn't that bad. She was an excellent martial artist, despite being a non-bender and she enjoyed Pro-Bending. If it weren't for the simple fact that the girl was seeing her secret (but not so secret to Bolin) crush, she thought the two of them might have hit it off a little better. Asami had never been hostile once to Korra, and the thought that _she_ had to the other girl made her feel a little guilty; but only a little…

Korra didn't know what to say in response so she turned her attention back to the game, as it was signalled to begin.

"Hey Hotshot, think you can quit with the kissy faces for ten minutes while we kick these little _girls_ in the keester?" she scowled across at the oldest brother.

"_Jealous_?" Bolin taunted, raising a thick eyebrow at her suggestively.

Mako shook his head and blinked, looking confused.

"Eh? Oh…right…the match." He rubbed the back of his head guiltily.

Korra couldn't help but find his expression rather cute, he could be such a _dork_ sometimes; she only wished that it was _her _that he was drooling over…wait…no.

Groaning, she slapped a hand over her eyes and tried to make all thoughts of him disappear from her mind, to concentrate on the game instead.

The two opposing teams faced each other. Then the bell rung and within seconds there was a flurry of movement.

'…_And they're off, the Badgermoles waste no time in unleashing a flurry of hot offence upon the Ferrets. Teruk grinds into the air with a torrent of water, trying to separate the three Ferrets…however it looks like the young Avatar is too much for him, moving through the current with the speed of a hawk…'_

Korra hissed as she narrowly missed another slice of water as it sped passed her quickly. It seemed that the Badgermoles tactic was pitting the same element against each other and while she would normally call herself a waterbending prodigy, it seemed that Teruk was just as prodigal in his native element as the young avatar herself.

She didn't need to look across at the two brothers to sense that they were also having difficulties of their own. Bolin had already been pushed back into zone three and Mako was balancing on the edge of zone two.

Sensing her distress, Mako lost his concentration to regard her for a moment.

"Focus, Korra!" he hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

He paid for his lapse with a blast to the chest, he grunted and shot backwards to join his brother in the tiny third zone.

'…_and Mako joins Bolin at the edge of the ring as we enter round three, it's one a piece, can the brother's hold their own against the barrage of attacks from the seasoned Badgermoles? It's anyone's guess…'_

Korra forced herself to ignore the commentator and she exhaled calmly as she remembered to calm her frustration. Tenzin had told her before the match that allowing her temper to rise would only be the cause of their undoing and she needed to remain calm in order to react quickly to any attack. What had Master Toph once drummed into her head? Wait and Listen? That was it.

Breathing in and out again calmly, she saw the switch in the 'Moles tactics a few seconds before they executed it, they were going to focus their attacks on her and try to knock her backwards into the brothers and send the three of them into the drink.

"Korra! You're supposed to be bending! Not just dodging!" Mako hissed at her, clearly concerned at her lack of movement.

All too quickly, their Firebender surged in front of his teammate and unleashed a tidal wave of fire like an orange, boiling sea. Korra dodged quickly and she saw Mako and Bolin fighting back just as hard when suddenly the opposing earthbender attacked from behind with two disks that connected with the two brothers and sent them hurtling off the edge.

While she secretly felt a jolt to her stomach at the thought that the entire championship now rested on her, she had spotted an opening. To anyone watching from the stands, the Badgermoles looked unstoppable. They were so huge; surely they would be able to win this battle with a swift flick of the wrist.

What they weren't expecting or at least, hadn't noticed; Korra hadn't actually used any bending yet. She still had a full reserve of water at her disposal and the Badgermoles were running on empty.

In a swift move, not unlike another great Waterbending master who had shown her this invented technique; Korra pulled the entire reserve of water into a ring around her and with a very complicated flick of the wrist separated it into hundreds of whip thin tentacles that danced around her. Master Katara had taught her this move, but Korra had adapted it, improving it almost. Katara had called it the 'Octopus', but when Korra had mastered it and changed it, she had secretly renamed it the 'Jellyfish'.

Once it had taken a few moments for the fact they had used up all of their reserves to sink in, Korra gave a smug grin and spun, kicking out into the air quickly.

Mako and Bolin were watching from the platform with bated breath. Mako had been ready to greet their inevitable failure once the surprise attack had knocked them off course and out of the competition, and while he had every faith in Korra as a powerful Waterbender; taking on the three huge Badgermoles seemed like a match doomed to failure. She was incredibly strong for her size and height, but compared to the hulking towers of muscle; she looked tiny.

His theory was tested however within the next few seconds, dozens of tentacles shot out and ensnared two of the Badgermoles, Teruk squealed in terror as he was launched into Chen, his Earthbending teammate and the two of them soared backwards and into the drink. They landed with a satisfying 'splash' and Bolin's mouth dropped open at the sight.

Before they could fully gauge what had just happened, the two brothers watched in amazement as the Avatar grinned slyly at Miso, the remaining Firebender and shot the entire vault of water encased around her towards him, twisting gracefully in mid-air.

"Nice knowing you!" she goaded.

With a yell he was quickly taken care of and sent to a very watery exit. The stadium fell silent for a moment and everyone seemed to be looking at one another before everything erupted into a deafening roar.

Breathing heavily, Korra refused to move and as such didn't notice that she was about to be barrelled into by Bolin. With an 'oof!' the two friends fell to the floor and the Earthbender hugged her excitedly.

"Way to knock em down!" he exclaimed, hugging her tighter. In the confusion of dozens of people crowding onto the arena to congratulate the champions, Korra missed the way that Mako was simply standing still and watching her with a foreign look on his face.

She only noticed him when Bolin let go of her and she gave a startled grunt as she was pulled to her feet. She soon found herself encased in the arms of none other than Mako.

Feeling his lithe muscles pressed against her tightly in a hug sent a shiver through her body and she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. She momentarily forgot about the whole Asami business and she wrapped her arms around him tightly in return.

"Excellent." Mako whispered, clearly impressed. "Well done, Korra."

Feeling a lump rise in her throat, she swallowed it quickly, she had every intention of remaining encased in his arms; but Asami had arrived and, clearly thinking that his little girlfriend was more important, he all but pushed Korra away and went to hug _her_ instead.

More than a little hurt, Korra turned back to Bolin, who was oblivious to her turmoil for once due to the happiness on his face; she was so confused that she wasn't thinking when she pulled the exhilarated Earthbender towards her and threw her arms around him, kissing him full on the lips.

For the next five seconds the entire stadium fell silent and Mako and Asami pulled away from their embrace to locate the reason that the crowds had fallen on deaf ears.

He saw his thoroughly surprised and delighted little brother blink a few times at what was happening to him and eventually shut his eyes and gather Korra up into a crushing hug, their lips still locked.

The two of them didn't see the way that Mako's eyes narrowed at their display and the fire seep through his body as he watched _his_ brother making out with the girl he –

Wait…just how _did_ he feel about Korra?

* * *

**Please don't kill me! *Awaits barrage of rotten tomatoes* Hopefully I haven't scared everyone away, the next chapter should be up next week! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! Seriously, I can't believe the amazing response I've had to the first chapter! I'm truly flattered, thank you. This chapter was going to be posted a little later but I managed to get some free time and finish it sooner as a thank you. Alot of the reviews brought up what happened in episode four and I was asked which ship I go for. I've been a Makorra fan from the start, and I was genuinely knocked sideways when I saw how much Mako was into Asami. I'd expected her to go for Bolin. I went into a huff for a few days (my kids wanted to know why Mummy was sulking, bless them) and thus, I got the idea for this. While it's not that important, I noticed from the episode 5 Promo that Tahno is in fact a Waterbender, not a Firebender like I stated, so I'll be correcting that shortly. So I hope you enjoy this chapter, it is a little angsty in places but I've tried to keep it in character and good humor as with all my writing. I have no idea how the episodes are going to pan out but I hope you enjoy this! **

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A Little Of What You Fancy - Chapter Two

After the initial shock of locking lips with her best friend had eventually worn off, Korra had pulled away to find the Earthbender staring at her with a rather sweet blush nestled on his face and a cheeky smile.

"N-Not that I'm complaining or anything…" Bolin's voice came out as a croaky whisper. "But where did that come from?"

Staring at him for a moment, she felt a smug smile drift across her lips at rendering the normally boisterous Earthbender practically speechless.

"I-" She was caught off guard by a gloved hand on her shoulder pulling her away from Bolin and roughly turning her round to face them.

Mako.

"What the hell was _that_?" he focused the heat of his narrowed eyes on Korra, his hand still holding her shoulder tightly. He was looking at her as if she had just committed some sort of hideous faux pas. She studied him for a moment before she jerked her shoulder out of his grasp with a hiss.

"What the hell was _what,_ Mako?" Korra placed her hands on her hips and bore her eyes into his, ignoring the way that Bolin was looking between his big brother and his best friend in alarm and the confusion at which Asami was glancing at her boyfriend.

When the Firebender didn't respond, she continued.

"What?" Korra was in too much of a good mood at winning the tournament to cause another scene in the middle of the arena, so she raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. "Did you want a kiss too?"

To her left, the anticipation of an argument breaking out between the two quickly dissipated as both Bolin and Asami laughed at Korra's words. Still glaring at her, Mako's attention was turned elsewhere when a slender hand placed itself upon his forearm.

"Mako, we have a dinner reservation at eight, remember?" she spoke gently. "Let's go get you cleaned up, okay?"

Asami smiled when Mako turned to her with a softened expression and he nodded in return. Korra folded her arms and her lips set into a thin line as she watched them. She was welcome for the distraction when Bolin grabbed her hand and tugged her away from the two love-birds with a grin.

"C'mon Korra, let's go celebrate!" with a wave to his still thoroughly rattled brother and Asami, Bolin called out to them as he pulled Korra behind him through the crowds. "Have fun guys! Come and celebrate with us later, okay?"

Watching them go, Asami turned to Mako with a smile.

"You're little brother and Korra, isn't that the sweetest thing?"

"Yeah…" Still watching the space where the two of them had disappeared, he sighed. "…Fantastic."

* * *

By the time that the sun had set across the city, and Korra and Bolin had each demolished three glasses of some concoction with a distinct taste and the pungent aroma of motor oil that Bolin had goaded her into trying with him; Korra was feeling pleasantly fuzzy around the edges.

Being rather _loud_ once she had consumed a few drinks and having just thrown back her fourth and slammed the glass back down onto the table with a hearty whoop, a few people were undoubtedly giving the pair funny looks.

The alcohol was doing wonders to alleviate the pressure of the whole Mako situation and it had actually helped her come to a startling conclusion regarding the confusing Firebender.

"_Sod_ him…" Korra heaved a dramatic sigh. "Sod _him_ and his stupid eyebrows!"

Having no idea what thoughts his best friend had been filtering through her internal dialogue, Bolin gave her a cheerful nod; clearly too distracted to pay any attention to who or what she was talking about.

"When is it ever going to end?" she pouted, trying to focus her gaze on the blurry outline of her drinking buddy.

"Who has stupid eyebrows?" Bolin piped up, suddenly paying attention.

"I'm talking about your brother!" Korra started angrily. "One minute he treats me like a proper friend should and the next he's yelling at me for something or other! All I want to do lately is give him a hard kick where the sun doesn't shine! He makes me so – urgh!" Korra tried to search around for a word suitable to describe how Mako made her feel, but she quickly gave up and slapped her palms face down on the table in frustration; startling Bolin and causing several more patrons to turn and glare at her angrily for disturbing them.

"Can I ask you something?" Bolin said after a minute, his smile gone and replaced with a look of confusion.

"What is it?"

"Why did you kiss me?"

Korra knew the question would be coming at some point. It had surprised her that her best friend hadn't brought it up hours ago after the deed had been done; but she was also grateful that he hadn't, four hours of pondering had given her the chance to think of a good response.

"I wanted to." she stated simply.

"You did?" He blinked. If he had been expecting how she was going to answer him, it certainly wasn't that; judging by the surprise on his face. "I mean, of course! Who wouldn't? I'm irresistible and handsome!"

"And modest." Korra played with her glass and shot him a look, grinning.

Bolin was charming, brilliantly funny and always had a smile on his face; he was clearly adored by his many fans. While she hadn't expected herself to jump on him like that and kiss him in front of everyone, she didn't regret it in the slightest, either.

"That too." Bolin noted, picking up his glass; hesitating for a moment. "But seriously…I thought you were more interested in M –"

She sighed and held up a hand to silence him quickly.

"I…I really don't know what to think about this whole…thing…with Mako and Asami honestly." Korra spoke truthfully. "It was all going well…we put aside our differences to come and rescue you…then he gets knocked for six, falls head over heels for Asami and acts as though I don't exist anymore."

"I wouldn't say that." Bolin disagreed. "He still rants on about how 'crazy' you are all the time." He teased.

"Gee, you just made me feel a whole lot better…" Korra snipped at him in good humour and leant back in her chair with her arms folded.

"You're welcome." Bolin winked and drained his glass.

"Asami really is a great girl…I'm happy your brother has found someone so nice…but it still hurts Y'know?" Korra sighed. "I just…don't know what to do." She looked across at Bolin. "He's infuriating, loves to criticize everything I do wrong and he's…well…" she couldn't finish.

"And me?" The Earthbender was watching her reactions carefully.

"You're always there…you're always smiling, making me laugh…" Korra smiled as he waggled his eyebrows at her. "You're nowhere near as suave with the ladies as you pretend to be and honestly…any girl would be lucky to have you….I like you a lot…"

Bolin smiled at Korra as if it was the nicest compliment he had ever received.

"I like you too, I mean _really_ like you." Bolin told her honestly with a blush. "You're beautiful, stubborn and intimidate the _hell_ outta me…" he cleared his voice. "And I'm really glad I rescued you after giving Toza one of the _worst_ excuses I've heard anyone give in like…_ever!_"

Laughing, she really didn't know what to say to something like that, so she simply nodded and chose to stay silent.

"Why not just…_not_ worry about it for a while?" He could see how much she was struggling internally, so he suggested briefly. "Just 'go with the flow', isn't that what you Waterbenders say?"

"I'm not _just_ a Waterbender though am I?" Korra grinned. "I've got a multi-personality thing going on, if you hadn't noticed…"

"I always knew you were a fruit loop." Bolin grinned as she tutted in disbelief and swatted a hand at him. Feeling as though a giant weight had been lifted from her chest, she sighed in content. Bolin saw this and reached over to grab her hand.

"Whatever you decide –"

"…Mind if we join you?" came an amused female voice.

The two of them turned to find Asami smiling down at them with a moody looking Mako holding her around the waist. It seemed the couple had finished their dinner date and had decided to take Bolin on his offer joining them for drinks. Well, Asami looked as though she had gladly taken him up on their offer; Mako on the other hand seemed to have been dragged here kicking and screaming by the skin of his teeth. Korra inwardly snorted at just how funny watching the Firebender throwing a childish tantrum would be to watch.

"Do you mind if we join you?" she asked again sweetly. "Our dinner got interrupted, the restaurant closed early."

Korra, strangely not feeling her usual bravado rise to the surface, was about to open her mouth to say something nice for once when the Earthbender answered for her.

"Sure, grab a seat!" Clearly glad for the extra company, Bolin smiled.

Asami looked across at Korra and smiled genuinely, which the Avatar found herself returning sympathetically.

"Sure go ahead, I don't mind."

Had she bothered to look at Mako, she would have seen the look of surprise he shot her from behind his girlfriend. He'd been expecting some sort of flippant remark or tense reaction from the normally fiery and upfront girl when it came to Asami. To see her smiling and accepting her without a question; he figured she was either drunk (which he doubted as she hadn't started singing yet) or Bolin had said something to her.

Narrowing his eyes in contemplation, he watched as Asami smiled gratefully and draped her jacket over the back of one of the spare chairs next to Korra; before turning to him.

"Let's go and order a round of drinks." For a brief moment, Mako's gaze met Korra's and she saw him attempt to signal something…spirit's only knew what…with his eyes, before he nodded and walked off with Asami. She watched the two of them go.

"Korra?" murmured Bolin.

She had almost forgotten that her best friend hadn't finished what he was going to say before the other two had shown up and turned to look at him.

"Sorry, you were saying?"

Clearing his voice, he reached over and grabbed her hand again.

"Promise me…" he began, his voice sounding a little afraid. "Whatever you _do_ decide…promise me…promise we won't stop being friends…"

Her mouth opened and her stomach looped at the way at which he'd said it. Had he honestly just said that? Losing him as her friend was her worst idea of a nightmare. She'd rather face a million Chi Blockers than not having him in her life. One of her biggest personal triumphs about her running away to Republic City had been in meeting the two brothers and gaining them as her friends.

"I promise." She smiled and tugged on his hand to pull him forwards, planting a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Ahem." Korra pulled away from Bolin quickly as a rough voice interrupted them. Mako was stood before them, a tray of four drinks in his hand and a complete scowl on his handsome face. His appearance sent a surge of adrenaline running through her.

Having only really seen him in his normal bending uniform that he wore during matches and practice, and the grey coat and red scarf he wore during his off duty days; finding him standing before her in a _suit_ of all things was somewhat different.

His normally spikey hair had been smoothed to the side, he was wearing an expensive coat jacket made of a fine silk and had even fastened his usual red scarf into a makeshift cravat. He still looked completely gorgeous, but Korra didn't like the change; it wasn't _him_.

"Well, don't you two look snazzy?" Bolin laughed and kicked the spare chair out in between him and Asami so Mako could sit down.

Korra glanced across at Asami and her heart sunk like a leaded balloon. Bolin was right, of course.

The Sato heiress was tall, brunette and ridiculously attractive. With a thin, model like figure, large green eyes and flawlessly pale skin; it was easy to see why she had taken the Firebender's interest straight away.

Korra was loud, brash and stubborn. Her temper was well known and her affinity for enjoying a good fight was enough to send most men running for the hills; and while she wasn't particularly bothered about attracting a lot of male attention, at least being acknowledged as being an _actual _girl by someone other than Bolin would have been nice.

It only made Korra feel all the more plain and insignificant compared to the other female.

"Mako, why don't you loosen your fathers scarf?" Asami nudged him with a playful smile. "We aren't at dinner now, so you don't need to look so formal."

Bolin saw the utter devastation in Korra's eyes, because he _knew_ that Mako hadn't told Korra just why he was so protective of the red fabric that the Firebender hated to be without. So to learn that Asami knew such a closely guarded secret of his big brother was certainly a shock.

"That scarf was your fathers?" Korra muttered, feeling pretty low. "I…I never knew that."

Mako looked across at her and saw the disappointment in her eyes. He felt a lump form in his throat as her eyes met his.

"Really?" Asami seemed surprised. "I thought you guys were good friends?"

Within seconds, Korra could feel the seething anger rising in her again.

"Yeah…" She let out a defeated laugh and her eyes dropped to the floor. "…So did I."

Realising just how hurt she was, Mako looked at her in concern as she pushed her chair back and stood to her feet. When he saw the blank stare and her eyes shining, he leaned forwards.

"Korra..." His voice broke with emotion as she refused to look at him.

"I'll be right back." Korra tried to sound convincing. "I need to go to the bathroom."

The three of them watched her stalk off in the direction of the ladies room and Asami turned to Mako with a frown.

"You guys are teammates…and you've never bothered to tell her anything about yourself?"

"I…err…" Mako could feel himself loosing face as he was fired questions from both sides.

"What is your problem with Korra, Mako?" Bolin shot at his brother. Normally he wasn't one to lose his temper, but seeing his best friend so upset had grated on Bolin's last nerve. "She's never done _anything_ except take your criticism and _glares_."

"I DON'T KNOW!" Mako roared in exasperation. "I just don't know, alright?"

Bolin and Asami looked at one another before turning back to look at the Firebender. He was breathing heavily and he was staring through his drink as his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

"I can't explain it…she just makes me so…_angry_." He spoke in a daze. "It's her attitude to everything. She complains all the damn time; she acts as though the damn world owes her. She gets everything she needs and _wants_ without having to struggle for it. And that is what _pisses_ me off…"

"You really think she's got it _that_ easy?" Bolin argued back, leaning forwards. "You've got _no_ idea what Korra's been through. She's spent her entire childhood knowing she was different from everyone else, she was bending three out of four elements at four and by the time she was six; the white lotus had taken her away from her family to train her!"

Mako looked stunned.

"Yeah, okay…she's stubborn and 'in your face' most of the time about it." Bolin continued. "Korra was brought up being told she was special, she's only seventeen and she's already mastered three out of four elements…so it's made her a little cocky about it…" Bolin waved a hand in dismissal. At the look his brother gave him, he added. "Ok…_real_ cocky…but that's just who Korra is. Why don't you just swallow that _righteous _attitude of yours and try and get to know her properly without automatically jumping to conclusions?"

Mako sighed exasperatedly. "I want to…but every time I try…I just think about everything that's ever happened to us and I build my walls up again."

Asami leaned over and placed a slender hand on his.

"You let me in…" she smiled. "Can't you at least _try_?"

He looked across at her with a startled expression. "Yeah…" he agreed. "I…I mean _if_ she still wants me as a friend…after…"

Bolin chuckled and Asami rolled her eyes.

"Stop worrying about it and just go and apologise already!" Bolin pulled his older brother to his feet and pushed him off in the direction of the ladies toilets.

Asami giggled to herself as she watched the two brothers, hearing Mako protesting along the way.

"Hey! Bolin? _Ouch!_ What are you doing? I can't go in _there_!"

* * *

In the harshly lit toilets, Korra was surveyed her reflection in the mirror.

Her hair was rumpled, her cheeks were puffy and she had an attractive noodle stain down the front of her top from the takeout she had eaten with Bolin on the way to the bar.

It was pointless trying to compare herself to Asami. There was no competition…the beautiful and friendly heiress won _every_ time.

It was pointless hoping that Mako held any sort of attraction to her, pointless. She was starting to wish that her feelings towards the Firebender would just disappear and leave her confused heart in peace to try and find someone who _would_ care about her the way she cared about _him_. Nausea crawled up Korra's throat.

She had been a fool to think that someone like him would be interested in a cocky, sarcastic girl from the Southern Water Tribe. She was too head-strong, too independent. Mako needed someone _feminine_ and _charming_, not a girl who could bend three guys several times the size of her into the drink without much effort.

A last minute attempt to smooth down her messy ponytail caused her to laugh at herself and sigh; she heard the door swing open behind her but paid it no mind. "What does it matter?" she whispered to herself, looking down into the sink, her hands tightening on the rim.

"I hope you're not giving up already." Korra was startled out of her reverie by a distinctly male voice.

Whipping her head up to look who it was in the mirror's reflexion, she was surprised to see Mako leaning against one of the cubicles with his arms folded; looking torn between concern at her statement, and alarm that he was in the _girl's_ bathroom.

The thought that he had disturbed her in one of the few places that she thought she could mull over her thoughts without _him_ being there to distract her really tugged at the anger she had been trying to quash down.

"What the _hell_, Mako?" she hissed, turning round to glare at him. "This is the _girl's_ bathroom! Why are _you_ in here?" she demanded.

Mako sighed. There went her temper again. He really needed to find a way to cool her down.

"I came in here to apologise." He spoke truthfully, quelling his usual urge to shout at her. "I'm a jerk…I never really gave you a chance and when I met Asami I pushed you aside completely and I'm sorry…I'm _really_ sorry."

Korra's anger dropped from her face. Without missing a beat, and recovering quickly, she replied.

"Hey, no need to apologise. Asami's great, she's beautiful, friendly and I can see why you like her so much." Korra sighed. "Any guy would be stunned to get the opportunity to get to know a girl like her…"

Mako, stunned with her impression that she was inferior to Asami, unlaced his arms and took a step towards her.

"_Korra_…you're pretty incredible yourself, Y'know…you shouldn't sell yourself short." He spoke truthfully. "Don't you _dare_ think that you aren't worthy of anyone's time…or I'll go right back to yelling at you again." He murmured dangerously.

Watching him swallow his pride and speak to her like that wasn't helping her at all; she wanted a reason to be angry with him so she could push her feelings for him aside and try to move on. But he had captured her heart and while it wasn't completely shattered, it now definitely had a crack in it.

"Okay." She said simply. He wasn't convinced.

"Y'know…I might not have told you about its origins…but you're the only person I've ever leant my scarf too." Mako gazed at her intently.

It wasn't an attempt to make her feel better, but she laughed all the same.

"I'm honoured." Korra said dryly, folding her arms and looking down at the floor.

Mako took another few steps towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Can we at least promise to _try_ to get to know one another without you yelling at me?" Korra tilted her chin up to meet his eyes. "I promise to stop throwing insults and complaining about you all the time…" he offered in exchange.

Pretending to think about it seriously for a moment she looked away. "Hmn…well –"

"I'll let you throw all the rocks and fire and water you want at me in practice?" he added.

Humoring him, she narrowed her eyes and grinned smugly at him. "…And?"

"…I'll stop being so uptight when you and Bolin get into trouble?"

Laughing genuinely, she knew he was being serious with that last offer.

"Okay…_okay_…" She raised her hands to silence him. "You'll stop with the nit picking, quit the lectures and let me use you as my personal punching bag…in exchange for being friends?"

While he didn't like the way she grinned evilly as she mentioned using him as her punching bag, he nodded reverently.

"You got it." Feeling much better than she had half an hour ago, Korra stepped back and held out her hand, which he took immediately; their eyes locking, a shiver ran through both of their bodies at the touch. Mako still wasn't sure just _what_ he felt for the girl in front of him, but he knew it would be easier to figure out once he got the opportunity to get to know her properly.

It was the second promise Korra had made that evening, and she had every intention to keep them both.

* * *

**While it probably isn't the most exciting reaction, I really can't see Korra as the type of girl who would go nuts and try and steal Mako from Asami. She would be hurt, yes and be angry for a while...but I think she values her friendship with the boys too much to risk loosing them over a bit of jealousy. I hope I didn't dissapoint anyone, and I hope you'll join me for the next chapter, which again, should be done by the end of the week. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Again? I can't believe it! I got an even better response to this chapter than I did the last one! Thank you so much! I promised that I would get this finished by the end of this week, and since I'm away for the next three days, I wanted to get this up. Thank you to everyone who had said that they love the way I've been writing Korra, I must admit, writing for her is like writing about myself; I'm an Aquarius, so writing about a stubborn, sarcastic, independent young girl is like a second nature to me. Anyway, i'm babbling. Enjoy!**

* * *

A Little Of What You Fancy - Chapter Three

Seriously, some people just deserved to be kicked.

After yesterday's little chat with Mako in the girl's bathroom, Bolin had informed her that not only had the Firebender stopped complaining about her; he had apparently cancelled his date with Asami for the evening and was on his way to spend some time with the two of them; just like they used too…before Mako had been knocked over, asked out and almost broken Korra's heart (not that he'd ever know that last one, Korra thought reverently).

Now normally, that wouldn't have bothered Korra; but when her best friend had taken it upon himself to tease her relentlessly about it all day, she was _this_ close to hurting him.

"Sure you don't want to spruce yourself up for Mako?" Bolin batted his eyelids. "You can borrow my lipstick if you want."

Scowling, she stuck her tongue out at the Earthbender.

"You're _hilarious_."

He descended into a bout of laughter, stopping instantly when Korra gave him her best death glare.

"What?" Bolin said innocently.

Korra aimed a kick at is legs beneath the table, grinning when her boot connected with his left shin and he yelped in pain.

"Ha! You totally deserved that."

Pouting, Bolin sulked. "You kick like a boy!"

"Better than sulking like a little girl!" She shot back.

"See, you could have spent the past few minutes making yourself look pretty…" Bolin grinned, pointing to the door. "But it's too late now, Mako's here."

Korra's blue eyes widened and she sat up straight, her face twisted into a look of embarrassment and thrill all at the same time. They hadn't spoken since their little chat and she wasn't really sure how she should greet him. She tried to stop her heartbeat from racing in her chest and she took a long, slow breath to calm herself down. The object of the jumbled and confusing bundle of emotions within her was walking towards them, looking as gorgeous as ever with a casual smile on his face.

It was hard trying to remember that they were supposed to be just _friends_ when he strode towards them, looking as though he hadn't a care in the world.

"Hey Bro." He nodded at his younger brother, it was returned and he sat down, immediately turning his golden eyes to meet a hazy blue. "Hey Korra…" he smiled kindly.

The Avatar held his gaze, before raising an eyebrow at him and smiling, her heartbeat speeding up at the way he was smirking at her like _that_.

"Mako, took you long enough..." She teased, her words having a double meaning.

Pulling back a moment, he chuckled and folded his arms. His expression turned to teasing and he leaned back in his chair; throwing a leg over the other lazily.

"Yeah…tell me about it."

Grinning at his brother and his best friend actually being _civil_ with one another, he decided it was time to put his grand master plan into effect.

"Well, I'll be right back." Bolin stretched his arms over his head. "I gotta pee."

Korra looked at him in disgust.

"And we were _dying_ to know that…"

A small thrill jumped in her chest when she saw Mako smirk at her remark, but she remembered to quash it back down quickly. Bolin had shot off in the direction of the bathroom, leaving the two alone. Sighing contently, Korra turned to her teammate.

"So…are you always such a battle-axe or is it just around me?" Mako's golden eyes glittered.

"Hey, I thought we were done throwing the insults, Hotshot?" She leaned forwards and narrowed her eyes; Mako would have been worried were it not for that smug little grin on her face that he found so appealing. "We had a deal…" she pointed a finger at him suspiciously.

"That wasn't an insult." Mako supplied with a raised eyebrow. "It was an observation."

"Don't you forget part of the bargain was that I get to whoop your sorry _ass_ into next week…"

"Ooh, a sarcastic Waterbender with an attitude problem?" Mako smiled briefly. "I'm _terrified._"

"I'm looking forwards to wiping that damn smirk off your face, city boy…" Korra muttered under her breath.

"I'm sorry…" Mako unfolded his arms and leaned forwards with a smug smile. "What was that?"

"Oh quit your yapping." The Avatar grumbled. "Smart ass."

Just as well that at that moment he chose to glance away in triumph; she squeezed her eyes tightly shut and willed the redness to disappear from her cheeks. She wasn't supposed to be having these thoughts about him, they were supposed to wiping the slate clean and beginning again as friends; and she didn't know how exactly she felt about Bolin yet, did she?

"What'll it be?" Still thoroughly distracted, Korra blinked in surprise at Mako's words.

"Huh?"

Smiling again, he jabbed a finger behind him; pointing to the bar.

"To drink…what do you want?" Mako was reaching into his back pocket.

"I can buy my own drink Mako…" she chastised. "I'm a big girl."

Rather than get into another pointless, but fun argument with the Firebender, she pushed her chair out from under her and got to her feet.

"No…really…I don't mind-" He couldn't help but enjoy the way she cocked her hip and folded her arms at him; smug grin back in place.

"Oh sit down, Hotshot…I've got this round."

Ignoring her, he got to his feet and gently grabbed her forearm, pulling her back.

"Look I –" he gasped as she suddenly grabbed him by the front of his and yanked him down to her level, pointing a finger at him and glaring at him as though a mother would tell off a five year old.

"Sit…" She became very aware that she could feel his warm breath against her cheek. The two of them locked eyes and Mako saw mixed emotions toying away within hers. A small trace of pink found its way into her cheeks and his eyes dipped to watch her lick her lips. "…down."

With that, she sauntered off towards the bar and he quickly retook his seat; unable to decide whether to be scared or impressed. His throat was dry and he was beginning to feel a little hot under the collar.

Shaking his head quickly, before his train of thoughts traveled down a road that he wasn't sure he wanted them to go just yet, he glanced towards the bar and watched Korra.

It wasn't long before his eyes caught a brief glimpse of a familiar jerk trying to catch her attention as he unfolded his legs and hopped down from his stool, crossing the short distance across the bar to stand next to her.

Within two seconds, Mako had stridden across the room to stand next to Korra, who was scowling at Tahno, her fists curled while she waited for a drink.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded. "I thought Naga took care of you?" she delighted in the way he cringed momentarily.

"I couldn't resist, honey." He grinned, obviously believing he was _actually_ doing her a favor by being in her company. "I _love_ it when you play hard to get."

Korra felt a shiver of disgust travel through her and glared at him haughtily.

"…Yeah…like I'm _that_ desperate to want a slime ball like you…"

Looking slightly put out at her flagrant disinterest in him, he eyed Mako and grinned.

"Well if it isn't one of your little _bodyguards_." He goaded. "Run along _street-trash_, this is between me and the Avatar…"

Mako eyed him evenly. "Whatever you have to say to _Korra_, you can say to me."

"I'll just be a minute…why don't you run-"

"I have a better idea." Korra hissed and turned to face him, after paying for their drinks. "Why don't you go write down what you've gotta say, pop it in an envelope and then shove it up your ass?"

And with that, she waved, grabbed their drinks and left him standing there with his mouth open; Mako looked impressed.

"Hey, don't look at me." Mako drawled with a shrug. "She doesn't like chauvinistic pigs."

There was no fight; but it all happened in a quick second. Tahno took a swing for Mako, who simply blocked his punch and pushed him backwards to the floor. The male Waterbenders head hit the side of the bar and his drink spilled all down his front. There was uproar at the bar as everyone around them burst out laughing.

"Good try." Mako smirked. With his pride more than a little wounded, Tahno stalked off back to his slimy corner of the bar. The Firebender wished that his brother could have been here to see it…he would have loved the opportunity to put the Wolfbat's leader in his sorry place. And come to think of Bolin, where the heck was he?

"Nicely done." Korra complimented as he sat back down opposite her.

"I could say the same for you." Mako sounded amused as Korra slid his drink across the table to him.

The two settled into a comfortable silence until Korra sighed and checked the clock. It had been almost fifteen minutes since Bolin had stalked off to the men's bathroom, and he still hadn't shown any sign of returning. What on earth was he doing in there? Tunneling to Ba Sing Se? Korra snickered at the thought.

"What is it?" Mako looked at her from sipping his drink.

"Isn't it supposed to be _girls_ who take forever in the bathroom?"

He made a note of amusement and went back to his drink, seemingly unconcerned. Sighing heavily, Korra rested her elbow on the table with a huff and rapped against the wood with her fingernails. After two minutes of continuous tapping, she caught the Firebender's eye.

For a long moment they looked at each other and Korra wondered if he was thinking what she was thinking.

"He's ditched us, hasn't he?" Korra piped up suddenly.

Blinking at her in surprise, Mako opened and closed his mouth a few times before he glanced again at the bathroom door. Comprehension dawned on his face and he laughed, whipping his head round to gaze at her in disbelief.

"That_ little_ sneak..."

Laughing, she was tempted to march into the men's room and double check that he had in fact left them, but she bet any money that the sneaky Earthbender wouldn't be in there. She'd get him back for this later, but for now; oh well, there was no point dwelling on it. She might as well make the most of Mako's company…

"C'mon, let's go." Korra got to her feet.

"Go? Go where?"

Mako lightly brushed against her arm as he stood up and the unexpected contact made her shiver with longing. She dragged her gaze away from his mouth and caught his gaze.

"I'm not waiting around all night watching _you_ brood away in the corner, pretty boy...I wanna go _do_ something."

Mako eyed her suspiciously. "Like what?"

"I dunno, go for a walk and beat up a couple of thugs…blow something up…when I'm bored the possibilities are _endless_."

"Must we always do something that involves violence?" Mako sighed, closing the door of the bar behind them as they left.

Shooting him a lopsided grin, she came up with a brilliant idea.

"I've got it…"

He really didn't like it when she grinned like that. He sincerely hoped she wouldn't do something to get them into trouble, or worse; locked away for the night in a cold and smelly police cell.

"I owe you an ass whooping."

Oh…_great…_he thought, immediately warming to the idea that spending the night in that police cell might not have been so bad…

* * *

Mako charged forwards and at the same time Korra kicked out; weaving effortlessly through his ball of flame. She grinned and sent a fist of her own fire towards his shoulder, grunting in surprise when his foot connected with her waist and sent her flying backwards; ten feet away.

Standing over her in triumph, he held out a hand to help her to her feet.

"That's…one to you is it?" he counted off an invisible tally in his head. "And_ three_ to me."

Groaning, she swatted away his hand and got to her feet, dusting off her trousers.

"_Jerk_…" she murmured.

"Ahem…what was that?" Mako looked across at her smugly.

The two of them had been sparing for the past few hours and were pretty exhausted, but they'd had a great workout and had gotten to know one another a little better in the process.

Mako had realized that Korra wasn't always the stubborn, brash powerhouse that she showed on the outside and once the two of them had gotten talking; he saw that they had many similarities. He wasn't going to mention to her that she looked rather alluring with her hair all mussed up like that, worn out and a faint blush dusting her cheeks…her ego would go through the roof!

Korra had learned that Mako was just as, if not wittier than his brother; he had a dry sense of humor that Korra appreciated greatly and the two of them had actually gotten along like a house on fire. Not to mention that he looked even better all sweaty and breathing heavily than he did normally; Asami was one lucky girl…but she wasn't going to dwell on that…

Why not?

Because Bolin had just walked into the gym.

"Hey guys!" he waved a hand in greeting. "What have you too _buddies_ been up to?"

Mako raised an eyebrow at his brother. "Sparing." He replied simply.

Bolin looked flabbergasted. "Seriously? You've spent the entire time beating each other up?" he sighed. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Looking across at Mako, the two of them shared an evil smirk before they turned back to the Earthbender.

"What?" he glanced between the two with a withering look.

"We haven't spent the _entire_ time beating each other up…we had a pretty good chit chat too." Korra grinned. "Thanks for ditching us back there, by the way."

Flushing with pride, Bolin returned her grin. "Hey, no prob-"

"I'm still up for another round…" Mako interrupted his brother and raised an eyebrow at the Avatar, folding his arms. "You up for it…two against one?"

The Earthbender's grin vanished immediately when Korra turned back to her best friend and smirked. "Oh, _definitely..._."

"Huh? Two against one- _oh_…" Bolin gulped as simultaneously, his brother and Korra moved towards him menacingly.

If anyone had been passing close by the Pro-Bending arena that night, they would have heard the loud, horrified scream that emitted from within the walls.

* * *

"Do you think he'll be alright?"

Her tone was good natured, but she was still concerned when the Earthbender winced as he sat down on the musty orange corner sofa that occupied the left hand corner of their attic. He was holding the left cheek of his buttocks tightly.

Mako looked across to his little brother, flinching as he yelped again.

"Oh he'll be fine…he's had a lot worse than that during our matches." The Firebender was referring to the shoulder injury that Bolin had sustained in the semi-finals. "He might have a sore butt for a few days but –"

Korra grinned and stood up, making her way to the window. Slinging on her blue fur parka, she sighed and turned to the brothers.

"Well…I'd better be off" Mako watched with wide eyes as she climbed onto the window ledge.

"Where the _hell_ are you going?" Bolin spoke through gritted teeth. "The door is over _there_." He pointed to the other side of the attic with his free hand.

"I'll swim."

It took a moment, but once the two of them had figured out what Korra was planning to do, Mako looked at her as though she was crazy.

"You can't jump out of the window! We're ten story's up!"

"You could hurt yourself…" Bolin added through gritted teeth.

"Um…that's the basis of its appeal…" Korra grinned at them.

Scratch being mad…she was positively insane. Mako walked towards the door and motioned for Korra to follow.

"I'm not watching you leap out of window." He sighed. "If you need the adrenaline rush so bad then go fight a Moose-Lion…or better yet…wash Bolin's socks on laundry day."

Scowling, Korra eventually agreed and followed the Firebender, giving Bolin a wave and a goodbye on the way out.

When the two of them had made it to the arena entrance, Korra stood in front of Mako with her arms folded.

"You don't have to. I can make my own way."

"I know you can." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "But I'm a gentleman, so let me do it anyway."

Unable to argue when he brought out the smoldering smile, she turned away and tried again.

"It'll be quicker if I swim, honestly."

"At least let me walk you to the docks then?" he smiled.

Happy with his compromise, she nodded. "Thanks."

* * *

Unable to sleep, Asami crept out of bed, padded into her apartment's kitchen and made herself a hot cup of jasmine tea. Having carried it out onto her balcony overlooking the Arena and the waters of the bay, she sighed quietly and let her eyes drift over the scenery.

From here, she was high up enough to see the mountains and the lights of the city, but not so high that she couldn't see the traffic and people walking about the streets; or more importantly, two vaguely familiar figures making their way from the Arena, to the docks.

Smiling, she took a sip of her tea, hoping that her boyfriend and the Avatar had managed to put aside their differences and actually become _friends_ again.

She had known all about Bolin's plans of course, the two of them having discussed it whilst Mako and Korra had been chatting away in the toilets. She had managed to convince Mako to cancel their date but her biggest triumph had been convincing the Earthbender to get them both to the bar and then Earthbend himself out of the building. Having met up with Bolin after he had performed his part of the deal, the two had laughed about it together for a while afterwards. Smiling to herself, she completely understood why Bolin was so popular with his female contingent of fans, he was charming and his sense of humor had kept Asami laughing for hours. Why if she hadn't of met Mako first…

Making a mental note to get all of the gossip from him first thing tomorrow, she turned her attention back to the scene below her.

It looked as though Mako and Korra had stopped walking and their heads were close together, it seemed Korra was accusing Mako of something. Within seconds, Korra had launched herself at Mako, kissing him hard on the lips.

Asami jerked back from the balcony, feeling as though she had been punched in the stomach. She had no idea that the sight of the two of them together like that would cause such a reaction within her; but it was undeniably there. She and Mako hadn't even kissed yet…but she liked him enough for it to hurt a little at the thought of another girl kissing him.

By the time that Asami had recovered to look back down at the arena, Korra had vanished. Mako was skulking back towards the arena, stopping momentarily to gaze straight in the direction of her apartment.

The heiress gasped and shrank back, heart thudding at the thought that she had been seen. She watched as he continued along the promenade and disappeared into the Arena.

Leaving her tea to go cold, Asami slid back inside and climbed back into bed.

Mako would have a lot of explaining to do, when morning came.

* * *

"Admit it." Korra placed her arms on her hips, leaning towards him with a smirk. "You _like_ me."

Blinking for a moment, before turning away awkwardly, Mako sighed.

"I never said I _didn't_ like you, Korra…" he admitted. "I'm just a little...confused right now-"

His eyes widened in shock as a pair of soft and heated lips burned against his own. A delicious jolt of electricity shimmered along his spine and a shudder traveled along his body behind it. He was about to close his eyes when Korra pulled away sharply and took a few steps backwards.

"Thank you for tonight, Mako." She smiled sadly. "It's been wonderful."

And before he could say anything, she had dived headfirst into the cold, black water and out of sight; leaving him there, speechless and confused.

Mako had hoped that wiping the slate clean and getting to know Korra on her own terms would finally help him to figure out how he did feel about her; and he was pleased…if slightly afraid to say that it had.

She had captured his attention from the moment she'd met him…and now he found he didn't want to let go. Walking back along the path towards to Arena, he stopped and found himself gazing across at Asami's apartment building; feeling guilty.

Just how was he going to explain all of this?

* * *

**After watching all of the spoilers, clips and stuff for Episode 5 (I know it's ruining the surprise, but i'm extremely impatient) I was struggling to decide where to fit the infamous 'kiss' scene into the story. I hope I did it justice and made it believable.**

**The next chapter will be up next week when I get back from my mini-break. **


End file.
